


in this moment of peace

by anthonydarling



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Fluff, I don't trust the US military but I trust steve goddamn it, Inspired by Fanart, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:14:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthonydarling/pseuds/anthonydarling
Summary: Then Butterfingers was zooming past like a cat on crack, making a beeline for the elevator. Tony couldn't quite see in that direction from his angle, but he trusted Jarvis to not let him go anywhere he couldn't go. U and Dum-E began shrieking simultaneously, and honestly, Tony was more concerned about that than anything. There was a crash from that direction, and-“Woah!”And oh, oh, Tony would know that voice anywhere.(Steve's been on deployment for an awfully long time, and then he comes home.)





	in this moment of peace

Steve loved Tony, and damn, Tony loved Steve, but that didn't make the wait between Steve's deployments any easier. To make matters worse, he was in the Army Special Forces- black ops, the _scary_ shit that worried Tony sick- and his deployment time varied. He could be gone for six months on the dot or over twelve months, depending on what the brass wanted, and they always seemed to want Steve.

Steve was at the height of his career, so they saw each other face to face _maybe_ three times a year if they were lucky. It could've been more often if Tony lived on base, but he had Stark Industries to run and he'd never been one for the army life anyway. Especially after he'd stopped making weapons. The military wasn't getting any more top-of-the-line Stark Industries weaponry, and they were more than a little annoyed at the fact.

So they rarely saw each other, and that had to be okay. Tony was revolutionizing the world. Steve was keeping the world safe.

They were nearing the seventh month mark, now. Steve had been somewhere in the Middle East the last time that Tony had heard from him- which has been four _fucking_ weeks ago, because he was on some special op. Tony knew that Steve was fine, he was the great Commander Rogers for a reason, but it still made him antsy to think that he was in the same area where Tony had once been kidnapped. It wouldn't happen to him, of course, because Steve was nothing if not impossible to kill, but Tony worried anyways. It was all he could do from NYC, worry, pray to whatever deities existed that his husband stayed safe.

Tony _missed_ him. He missed waking up in his arms, his laugh, the way he yelled at the tv when he was watching baseball, damn it, he missed having someone around that could reach the top shelf. He even missed his nightmares, his bad days, because even then he was home safe and sound and Tony could feel like he was protecting him for once.

But there was no use in lingering on it, Rhodey had said kindly, and Steve wouldn't want him to, so he did his best to carry on. Pepper was always on his ass about improvements to technology or new inventions altogether, and he still made protective gear for the military (and he always sent the best of the best to Steve under the premise that Commander Rogers was too important to lose, but everyone saw through that), and he had a thousand other little things that he had to do.

Steve wasn't around, and life went on.  

“Dum-E, why are you in the kitchen?” Tony asked the bot tiredly. He was spinning around and beeping in excited tones, which was great, Tony loved happy bots, but what? “Did Jarvis let you up? Jarvis! Is this your tech-added version of a prank?”

“I'm afraid that I didn't have a hand in this, Sir, although U and Butterfingers may have.”

There was a crash in the living room. Tony groaned. “Oh, for god's sake, why did I make you-”

U was rocking awkwardly in front of a now broken vase. Tony winced. “Pepper bought that from an art installation.”

Then Butterfingers was zooming past like a cat on crack, making a beeline for the elevator. Tony couldn't quite see in that direction from his angle, but he trusted Jarvis to not let him go anywhere he couldn't go. U and Dum-E began shrieking simultaneously, and honestly, Tony was more concerned about that than anything. There was a crash from that direction, and-

“Woah!”

And oh, _oh,_ Tony would know that voice anywhere.

He dropped the vase, shattering the poor thing's remains even more, and fucking bolted towards the elevator. All he saw was a flash of black army relegation clothing and a painfully familiar shock of blonde hair before he was holding onto Steve like he was his lifeline, like he was the best thing in the world, and he was, he was, he _was_ and he was _home._

“Oh my god, Tony,” Steve choked out in that beautiful voice of his, hugging him just as tightly. “Tony, hey, sweetheart, I missed you so much.”

When it became clear that Tony was absolutely _not_ letting go anytime soon, Steve lifted him up so their torsos were flush together. Tony wrapped his legs around his waist in an attempt to get even closer. Somewhere along the line, Tony realized that he was babbling and crying at the same time, a litany of _darling you're home you're safe Steve honey I love you I love you I love you,_ and he didn't care one bit.

When Tony's sobs died down and tears were no longer blurring his vision, he was curled up against Steve's chest in their bed. It always felt empty when Tony slept alone in it, which was almost always, but not then, and he was so relieved by that that he almost started to cry again. He was so comfortable, though, and happy, in his worn pajamas and with Steve pressed against him. Speaking of Steve, he was still in his uniform minus the jacket, which couldn't be comfortable.

“You look comfy, though,” Steve murmured with fond eyes, like that was all that mattered, and Tony did that little head twitch thing that he always did when he realized that he was saying his thoughts aloud. Steve laughed faintly. “You've been talking nonstop, honey.”

He looked tired. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, and the remnants of a bruise on his left cheekbone. Tony trailed his fingers against it, always sad to see his husband injured, but Steve took his hand and kissed it.

“‘Tis but a scratch, darling.”

“Might not have been, though,” he murmured.

Tony knew that he would never be able to defeat his fears, and he knew that Steve cared too much about keeping the peace to stop fighting for it. Steve seemed to be thinking the same thing. He leaned forwards and put an arm around him as a silent reassurance that he was home, safe and sound. Tony cuddled closer to him.

“Tiny Tony,” Steve mumbled happily, and in any other situation Tony would have pretended to be offended by the nickname, but this time he simply pressed a kiss to the base of Steve's throat.

“Sleep. You look exhausted.”

They must have been an odd sight to see, a black ops soldier and his ratty pajama wearing husband laying together on bedsheets made of Egyptian cotton. They were incongruous, always had been: a poor kid and a rich kid, an art school dropout and a seventeen year old MIT graduate, a soldier and a man that refused to built weapons. At the same time, though, Tony's body slotted against Steve's like he alone was meant to be there, and Steve curled around him as if Tony was everything he fought for.

They slept.

**Author's Note:**

> based off of this art that was based off of one of my posts, I'm on mobile so uh: https://codeflaws.tumblr.com/post/182287626936/its-good-to-be-home-based-on-this-post


End file.
